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Worked on ushiro last night: Ikkyo, Nikkyo and Sankyo. We did this in a manner akin to what Kato Shihan would do... lots of footwork that I'm really not used to yet.

It never ceases to amaze me how Riggs Sensei can just think up a technique and execute it like he's been doing it all his life. "I just made it up!" he says with a sly grin on his face. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggle along trying to figure out... what the hell???

If you've ever done ushiro waza, you know you have to blend and cut. That's not the problem. The problem, aside from being tired last night, was with the footwork. Especially on ura... you don't bring the leg back. In fact, you can't or you'll be too far away from the uke and snatch your hand away. Instead, you load the front leg and step around the uke. Sounds simple, but it's subtle and complex. Once you get it, it's very powerful. Uke feels NO hiccup in the technique which is very flowing and dynamic. And it chunks you across the room in a tight roll... or sends you flying on your belly into the pin.

Hips! Gotta move the hips. None of this will make any sense to anyone until you see it and feel it. Suffice to say, with just Lan, Couch and myself working on this and Riggs showing us what to do... we got a hell of a workout last night. I can barely keep my eyes open right now I'm so tired.

Ugh... 2 more hours.

PS: Sesnei and his wife laid tile down the night before. The dojo is really looking sharp these days. If we can ever get the mat's tarp in and laid out... that place is gonna look badass!! LOL